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Joseph Willows
Joseph Willows is the most successful and was the series' first world championship winner in 2006. He is one of only 2 drivers, the other being Jay McKenzie, to have competed in every race since the championships inception. He is currently driving for the Scuderia Ferrari Team in Tier 1 of the 2016 OC. He was the first driver to achieve more than one championship win in 2006 and 2008 both with McLaren, a record he held until Florian Völker won his second title in 2011. Widely revered as one of the greatest drivers in OC history, Willows is the most successful driver in terms of race wins and holds the joint record for races competed in. A classy sportsman and well mannered individual, Willows has earned praise for his pioneering early displays for McLaren, with a focus on good strategy and a setup that favoured races situations that could carve through the field come race day. He garnered a reputation as a fearsome over-taker and perennial race winner during the championships early inception years. He is referred to as GP4's First Great All Rounder, with a natural ability to win races in machinery that was generally viewed as inferior and unviable. This will to win has led to an unassailable record of winning a race in every season he competed in, a record that is unlikely to be topped. 2006 Debuting for McLaren in 2006, Willows made an almost immediate impression, establishing himself at the forefront in the early races of the newly formed championship. He scored a podium on his debut in Bahrain and won his first race 7 events later in front of a sell out home crowd at Silverstone. He endured a poor middle part of the season as the sport entered America and returned to Europe; however he was resurgent towards the end of the year, winning 3 out of 4 races before the final race of the season. This meant that Willows entered the final round in Brazil as favourite to take the inaugural championship. Going into battle with long time championship leader, Renaults Joshua Anderson, Willows' 2nd place and a lowly 5th for Anderson gifted the Midlands Maestro his first world title at the first time of asking. 2007 Willows stayed in the title fight all season ( although mostly as an outsider) and in Brazil he looked set to win the championship, until midway through the race he crashed in turn 3, allowing his teammate Jyri Maatta to take the title instead. However, his extraordinary drive in Canada, where he stormed from last on the grid to take a stunning victory, will always be remembered. 2008 This was the year that Willows truly marked himself as the class of the series. A three race winning run early in the season saw him in pole position for the championship, and he never really looked back. He strolled to his second title with two races still to run, and was astonishingly consistent throughout the season. Race wins GP4OC Results *Season in progress. Category:Drivers